


You Have My Gratitude

by PhantomSpade



Category: Zombieland Saga (Anime)
Genre: 19th Century, Dark Magic, Decapitation, Execution, Male-Female Friendship, No Romance, No Sex, One Shot, Other, Pre-Canon, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-10-31 16:59:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17853563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomSpade/pseuds/PhantomSpade
Summary: Before Yugiri became a zombie in the modern world, she was a normal yet well-revered courtesan doing business at the start of the Meiji Restoration.Then she met a mysterious man whom she had developed a friendship with. At the cost of her life.





	You Have My Gratitude

**Author's Note:**

> Zombieland Saga (c) Cygames

Japan was on the cusp of a new century. Thanks to new developments, the land of where the sun rises would truly florish. It was a beautiful country on the outside, but like a rose, it has its own thorns. 

Yugiri was an unusual sort of young woman. When she was in her teens, she had entered the profession of being a courtesan at the Shi-Yon, which some considered a fancier term for...a prostitute. 

It was necessary. She came from a decently well-off family and was well-educated, but unfortunately, they were settled with debts that they could barely pay off. Hence her parents sold her off into prostitution so she could earn money for them. 

Yugiri was taught to adapt to any situation she would get thrown in. Don't fret too much, be calm and rational, and go with the flow. And naturally, this way of thinking helped her out at the house of Shi-Yon. 

Her cultured, refined demeanor and natural charm managed to make her one of the most popular maidens of her district. Perhaps  _the_ most popular. The men loved her, the majority of her "sisters" adored her while some envied her, and her boss paid her handsomely for every satisfied customer. 

But then came the day she received a client who was different from the rest. 

As usual, her new client was a man. His facial features and elegant clothing told her that he was middle-aged and affluent, but the way he smiled at her and his surprisingly relaxed posture suggested he was younger than he looked. 

Yugiri mentally shrugged off her observations and prepared to start her job. She was to accept her customer regardless of age, class, and appearance. 

"How may I serve you, kind sir?" Yugiri had recited her lines from the day she had started her job. The words became more natural and smooth after the first few times of saying them.

But much to her surprise, the man held a hand up to stop her in her stripping. 

"Ah, no need to undress, Yugiri-han. I am not here for the services. I just simply want to have a normal conversation with you." 

Yugiri stopped in the middle of her disrobing, barely hiding her surprise at the man's words. It was very rare that she would get clients that don't want to have intercourse with her. 

"Is that what you want, sir?" She asked, wanting to be sure if that was what the man wanted. When he nodded, Yugiri wordlessly fixed her kimono back to its original state. Who was this man?  

"What is your name, sir?" 

The man smiled at her warmly, crinkles forming under his kind eyes. When was the last time Yugiri saw a kind face from a man? 

"You can call me Master." 

\---

That was the start of an interesting relationship between the two. 

Almost every other day at the house, Master would always ask for Yugiri, and the two would always have long, engaging conversations together instead of sex. Occasionally, the man would ask her to entertain him with a song and dance so she wouldn't get into trouble with her employer, but other than that, it never became sexual or romantic between them. 

He was an enigma. From what he had told her, he didn't have a wife nor any relatives known or alive. He didn't divulge into his interests or profession, so the young woman had no clue about what he did in his spare time. He was a man of privacy, for sure. 

Yet, Yugiri grew to like Master because of how respectful and kind he was to her. Her other clients would just tell her to pleasure them rather than have any interest in getting to know her. Master had proven to be a fresh air to her routine, and she welcomed it. 

The other maidens were a little curious about the relationship between them. They constantly asked her questions about him, wanting to know the details of their unusually chaste bond. But they were met with disappointment and frustration at her honest answers and eventually gave up. 

Although, there was one thing that she found strange about the man. On his fifteenth visit, he had revealed a secret that no one else knew. 

"You have an interest in the dark arts?" 

Master chuckled at her confused expression, yet he could tell that she was genuinely curious. He was glad for it, really. She didn't look at him with disgust nor with mockery. Rather, she looked at him with interest. 

"Indeed I do, Yugiri-han. I am well-aware that a man such as myself would not be invested in such a taboo. But I enjoy reading about spells, monsters that exist in myths...and immortality." 

The older man spoke with passion in his eyes, thoughtfully caressing the cup of tea in his hand as he talked of spells he had uncovered in his research. And Yugiri listened with full intent, never turning away nor losing interest. She was no doubt enchanted by his verbose. 

Suddenly, he stopped talking to take a long drink of tea, then the air around them became tense as he spoke again. 

"You see, Yugiri-han, I am here in this lovely country on a private mission. I have my reasons, but the time I have spent with you...I want to confide in you." 

He leaned in, his relaxed features changing into a serious expression that made him look even older than he was. Yugiri was quick to lean in as well, sensing how important their discussion would be. 

"I am only telling you this because I have complete trust in you, Yugiri-han. Do you promise to help me?" 

Yugiri could only nod quietly, which Master had accepted as an answer. He took a deep breath, then, in a soft whisper, confessed another alarming secret. 

"I come from the neighboring country of China." 

Yugiri hid her surprise and took a quick sip of her tea. It was known that tensions between Japan and China were fairly high, so it would be risky for a person of either country to visit the other unless they were...a spy of some sorts. 

But to Yugiri, Master seemed like an eccentric yet somewhat ordinary man, and he treated her with kindness and respect. For him to risk coming here, he must had his reasons to. 

"Yugiri-han, you do not have to help me. It is your choice; I am not forcing you and there will be consequences. I do care about you, after all." 

Yugiri shook her head at him with a small smile. He was being considerate of her, and she admired that. Yet, Yugiri wasn't as fragile as everyone believed. She was not afraid of taking a risk if it meant to help a friend. 

"I do not mind at all, Master. This will be repayment for your kindness. Will you tell me how I may assist you?" 

\---

Loyalty wasn't a known trait of Yugiri's, but her bond with Master truly showed how far she would go to assist him. Even though she was aware of the dangers, she didn't hesitate. For a few months, she had tried her best not to arouse any more suspicion while she helped out Master with his "mission". After all, she felt in debt to him, so she wanted to repay his kindness. 

However, all good things must come to an end. 

Two officers burst into Shi-Yon, startling the women and their customers. They looked around from the entrance, clearly looking for someone. But who? And why? 

Madame Ayaka quickly ran up to the two men frantically. She looked confused, panicked, almost as if they were instead a pair of demons came to the door.

"W-What is the meaning of this? Why are you here?!" 

The men stood firm in their place and immediately went straight to the point of their business. 

"Ayaka-sama, we have received word that one of your maidens has been helping a spy! I am afraid that we have to detain her and punish her for treason!" 

In the sea of shock and confusion, Yugiri froze in her dance. She could not believe it; she thought that she was careful. She and Master were so discreet about their association, people had assumed that they were a just a strangle couple. So how did this happen? 

Unfortunately for Yugiri, she never got the answer. 

"Yugiri of the Shi-Yon House, you have committed a grave crime of assisting a spy from our enemy! By law, you are under arrest and sentenced to death!" 

The next thing Yugiri knew, she was dragged out of the inn by hand and under the shocked and scornful gazes of the people that had gathered outside. Most of them were her former clients, looking repulsed at her like she was filth. At least, more so than she already was. 

They were rushing her punishment, taking her straight up to a podium in the center of town where a crowd had already gathered. Yugiri was forced onto her knees where one of the men came up next to her, wielding a sword that lined up on the nape of her neck.

One of the officials was speaking, but Yugiri had tuned out his words. Underneath her calm demeanor, she was frightened. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. But she calmed herself from the fact that her friend had not been captured like she was. Perhaps he had managed to escape. 

Her red eyes met a familiar set of dark ones in the crowd; ones that shone with worry and remorse for her current predicament. But she kept a brave face and send a gentle smile at his way. One that reassured him not he was not a fault. That she did not regret associating herself with him. 

She drew her last breath. Then, in a short second, the sword swung down. 

At the tender age of 19, Yugiri was executed for the assumption of helping an enemy from one of their neighboring countries. 

\---

Night rolled by in the peaceful streets of the town, barely an hour after Yugiri's death by the sword. Her body and head was still on display, looking calm and serene even dead. But very soon, the officials would come and take the corpse to burn it and spread her ashes out. He didn't have any time to waste. 

Master was aware that he would face death should anyone see him at the site. He had to act fast before someone could come by. 

It was by sheer coincidence that another woman was also beheaded for committing treason. But what for exactly, Master didn't know nor care at the moment. He had a job to do. 

He knew what he was doing. Carefully, he carried her body out and stuffed it into the sack. Next was her head; he quickly tied most of her hair up so it wouldn't get tangled inside. Then he made the swap: he placed the other girl's body and head in place of Yugiri's. With the use of magic, he had made sure that the deceased woman appeared as Yugiri to the human eye. The spell would be broken once they burn the body, and they would never know. 

He hurried to his home, looking back and around on the way to make sure he wasn't being followed. By the time he made it, Master gently laid her head and body on the floor like she was a delicate doll he treasured. The skin was ice cold and already showing signs of decay, turning a pale shade of blue. It was only a matter of time before Yugiri would decompose. 

He wanted to give her a rebirth that she deserved. 

"Yugiri-han, I cannot thank you enough for helping me. Yet, it pained me that you had to die for protecting me. I apologize that I am the cause of your punishment. But do not worry."  

He took out a scroll from his yukata, tattered and worn from use, yet the inscriptions inside were legible as he unfolded it in front of him. A forbbiden spell, one of many that would change their lives forever (and soon others would follow). 

" _Until you wake up, I will bring you back from the afterlife for the rest of my life._ " 


End file.
